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We may not have seen the last of former UCLA and New Mexico basketball player Donovan Dent.
Dent, who began his career with the Lobos and was the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2025, started 34 games this past season after transferring to UCLA. He averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists this past campaign, but after his senior season, he announced his retirement from basketball and would not pursue a professional career.
It seems he's had a change of heart. On Monday night, he told Van Tate of KRQE in Albuquerque that he has applied for a fifth season of eligibility with the NCAA, as athletes are now permitted to play five seasons under new eligibility rules.
“I just looked at it as another opportunity because I was completely done with it, and seeing that they made a fifth year possible and all of my coaches and my family were like,’ Let’s give it one more,'” said Dent. “They kind of talked to me about it, and I was like, okay. We just look at it like another opportunity for a blessing, I guess.”
The new eligibility rules do not apply to players who exhausted their eligibility in 2025-26, so Dent will still require an NCAA waiver to play next season at a new school.
In the meantime, Dent started a basketball camp and is currently training youth in Albuquerque.
Though players are now permitted to play five seasons during a five-year clock that begins either when the player enrolls or the semester after they turn 19, depending on which comes first, the NCAA has made it clear that those rules don't apply to players who completed their fourth seasons in 2025-26.
Dent is currently at the mercy of the NCAA waiver process, given that he has exhausted his eligibility. However, several players in similar positions seeking eligibility relief have already filed lawsuits. It's possible that Dent could join a class action suit or file his own lawsuit seeking an injunction.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Former UCLA, New Mexico guard Donovan Dent attempting college return
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Dent, who began his career with the Lobos and was the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2025, started 34 games this past season after transferring to UCLA. He averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists this past campaign, but after his senior season, he announced his retirement from basketball and would not pursue a professional career.
It seems he's had a change of heart. On Monday night, he told Van Tate of KRQE in Albuquerque that he has applied for a fifth season of eligibility with the NCAA, as athletes are now permitted to play five seasons under new eligibility rules.
“I just looked at it as another opportunity because I was completely done with it, and seeing that they made a fifth year possible and all of my coaches and my family were like,’ Let’s give it one more,'” said Dent. “They kind of talked to me about it, and I was like, okay. We just look at it like another opportunity for a blessing, I guess.”
The new eligibility rules do not apply to players who exhausted their eligibility in 2025-26, so Dent will still require an NCAA waiver to play next season at a new school.
In the meantime, Dent started a basketball camp and is currently training youth in Albuquerque.
Why isn't Donovan Dent eligible under new NCAA rules?
Though players are now permitted to play five seasons during a five-year clock that begins either when the player enrolls or the semester after they turn 19, depending on which comes first, the NCAA has made it clear that those rules don't apply to players who completed their fourth seasons in 2025-26.
What if the NCAA rejects Donovan Dent's eligibility application?
Dent is currently at the mercy of the NCAA waiver process, given that he has exhausted his eligibility. However, several players in similar positions seeking eligibility relief have already filed lawsuits. It's possible that Dent could join a class action suit or file his own lawsuit seeking an injunction.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Former UCLA, New Mexico guard Donovan Dent attempting college return
Continue reading...
